Open MRI machines help comfort more anxious patients

Advanced MRI technology helps comfort more anxious patients

The Open MRI machine at the Albany Advanced Imagery on Wolf Road in Colonie, N.Y. June 20, 2011. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

The Open MRI machine at the Albany Advanced Imagery on Wolf Road in Colonie, N.Y. June 20, 2011. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN

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The Open MRI machine at the Albany Advanced Imagery on Wolf Road in Colonie, N.Y. June 20, 2011. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

The Open MRI machine at the Albany Advanced Imagery on Wolf Road in Colonie, N.Y. June 20, 2011. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN

Open MRI machines help comfort more anxious patients

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For some, going to the doctor's office is a discomfort. When tests have to be done to check a patient's condition, it can add another layer of anxiety. A traditional MRI scan, though it may sound harmless, can cause some patients a large amount of stress.

Dr. Robert Rapoport sees multiple patients a day who are unable to complete an MRI scan.

"They look at (the scanner), and say they'll try it," said Rapoport, president of Albany Advanced Imaging. "They get in there and they say, 'Get me out of here.' It happens every day."

Advanced technology and design changes to MRI machines have given more people the opportunity to comfortably test for potentially dangerous injuries.

Doctors often ask for an MRI scan for patients with potential brain, spine or joint injuries. An MRI uses magnets to transmit radio waves over a patient's body. The waves produce an image that shows contrasts in tissue.

The airy design of older open MRI machines compromised their magnets' strength, said Rapoport. Closed MRIs, with walls surrounding a patient and more space for magnets, created a better image quality, he said. Within the past couple years, the Advanced Imaging practice received a newer General Electric open MRI scanner with stronger magnets. If a patient remains calm and stays still, an open MRI can produce images comparable to that of a closed one, he said.

Though the open MRI scanners have been used for larger patients and children, claustrophobic patients have been big beneficiaries. Rapoport said approximately one out of 10 patients he sees cannot complete a traditional MRI scan because of their anxiety in tight spaces.

"It's a longer, narrow tube, almost as if you're in a coffin," he said of the closed MRI machine. "It's better than it used to be, with newer designs, but you're in a relatively tight space." Rapoport said nine out of 10 patients who balk at a closed MRI will do an open MRI scan.

Making patients less anxious is a large component of Griffin Hospital's Imaging and Diagnostic Center in Shelton, Conn., according to Ken Roberts, the hospital's director of communications and public relations. People using the center's open MRI scanner can listen to music and even enjoy aromatherapy. The scanner even has a wide enough table for someone else to accompany the patient throughout the test, as long as the proper screening is done beforehand.

Several years ago, Roberts had to get his knee scanned through an MRI. He says he's not claustrophobic, but traditional machines still made him uncomfortable.

"You're in the machine almost up to your neck," he said. "That's where people get claustrophobic."

The technology of the center's Hitachi Oasis scanner also accommodates the patient's comfort. While traditional MRI scanners can bang loudly throughout the test, the SoftSound technology of the machine dulls the sound.

Whether a patient is anxious or not about the test, technology has made the process easier.